PGC: French Progression Ladders - Year 3

Year 3 Progression ladder overview – Term 1

Skills and knowledge	Example contexts and language	Arriving in Year 3 Term 2 able to…
Listening Listen and show understanding of familiar spoken words and a very limited number of short phrases.	Understand and respond to simple classroom instructions with gestures e.g. Listen, stand up Recognize numbers 1-10 Play listening snap with the greetings Support language is shown if needed	recognize some words with the support language removed follow 1 or 2 classroom instructions listen attentively and show understanding by joining in and responding
Speaking Repeat simple words and very short phrases.	Use simple greetings e.g. say hello and good-bye, say how you are and ask others how they are Say and/or repeat a few words e.g. numbers	begin the lesson saying hello and good-bye and saying how you are and asking others how they are, with support if required
Reading Recognise and understand some familiar written words and very short phrases. Show limited awareness of sound-spelling links.	Use visual clues and gestures to help with reading nationalities and languages Recognise and read out a few familiar words e.g. numbers	read aloud, as a class or a group, individual words displayed on the board
Writing Copy or write some familiar simple words using a model	Copy or write simple words correctly e.g. name, age, numbers, nationality, languages	accept that mistakes will be made when attempting to write a few familiar words from memory
Grammar Be exposed to some basic grammar appropriate to the language being studied: ‘je’ form of key verbs Simple imperatives Adjective agreement	Recognise/point to the ‘je’ form of the verbs ‘avoir’, ‘être’ and ‘parler’. Recognise/point to a simple adjective	possibly match up the ‘je’ form of the verbs ‘avoir’, ‘être’ and ‘parler’ with their English translation. begin to respond to a limited range of classroom commands
Phonics Be introduced to the patterns and sounds of language to help develop accurate pronunciation and intonation.	Explore the phonics pairs UN/ON and EU/AU	pick out some familiar words that contain the phonics pairs UN/ON and EU/AU recall some of the mouth movements needed to make the sounds for the phonics pairs
Culture Understand that there are people and places in the world that are different to where one lives.	Learn about how Christmas is celebrated in France Understand that some people speak a different language	recall a little information about how Christmas is celebrated in France

Year 3 Progression ladder overview – Term 2

Skills and knowledge	Example contexts and language	Arriving in Year 3 Term 3 able to…
Listening Listen and show understanding of familiar spoken words and some very short phrases.	Retrieve numbers 1-10 via a multiple choice activity Play listening Word Pop with the numbers 11-20 and family members	point to a few numbers between 1 and 20 in a word list. identify a family member. listen attentively and show understanding by joining in and responding at an appropriate level.
Speaking Repeat simple words, short phrases, and very short sentences. Begin limited communications using very short phrases and sentences.	Begin the lesson saying hello and good-bye and saying how you are and asking others how they are (with support if needed) With support, say a simple sentence e.g. about their name or age	recognise a familiar question and respond with a simple rehearsed response. name a limited number of animals.
Reading Recognise and understand some familiar written words and phrases. Show awareness of sound-spelling links.	Begin to put the numbers 1 to 10 in the correct order Recall the numbers 1-10 to match pictures with sentences showing how many family members one has Recognize and read out a few familiar words e.g. members of the family	work with a partner to match words and/or very short French and English phrases e.g. about family members, pets and ages.
Writing Copy and write a few familiar simple words using a model and one or two from memory.	Begin to select an appropriate word from a list to complete a short phrase or sentence	become more accepting that mistakes will be made when attempting to write a few familiar words from memory.
Grammar Become more confident in using the ‘je’ form of the verbs ‘avoir’, ‘être’ and ‘parler’ Become aware that nouns have a gender. Be introduced to: indefinite articles possessive pronoun ‘my’ il/elle (3rd person singular) form of ‘avoir’ and ‘s’appeler’.	Confidently use ‘j’ai’ to say who they have in their family or a made-up family Organise a list of family members (with support if required) according to ‘un’, ‘une’ and ‘des’ Give age of a family member using ‘il/elle a’ with support if needed Say the name and age of a family member or pet	read a sentence containing ‘mon/ma/mes’ or ‘un/une’ and begin to point out or underline these words. Occasionally a pupil might be able to identify what these are e.g. masc/fem/plural. have a go at giving the words ‘il/elle’ from memory.
Phonics Become aware of the patterns and sounds of language and develop more accurate pronunciation and intonation.	Explore the phonics pairs É/È and OU/U	begin to pick out some familiar words that contain the phonics pairs É/È and OU/U. become more confident at picking out some familiar words that contain the phonics pairs UN/ON and EU/AU. recall some of the mouth movements needed to make the sounds for the phonics pairs from this term and last term.
Culture To understand that there are people and places in the world that are different to where one lives.	Learn about the tradition of April Fool’s day in France Understand that some people speak a different language	recall some information about April Fool’s day in France.

Year 3 Progression ladder overview – Term 3

Skills and knowledge	Example contexts and language	Arriving in Year 4 Term 1 able to…
Listening Listen and show understanding of familiar spoken words and very short phrases.	Play Listening ‘Snap’ with numbers 1-20 and months Play Listening ‘Word Pop’ more confidently to identify family members and animals they like and don’t like	improve the time it takes to recall words already learned by recording their game times. follow (with support) simple classroom instructions. listen attentively and show understanding by joining in and responding in various ways e,g, give an action or hold up a picture. understand a few words in a song or rhyme.
Speaking Repeat simple words, phrases, and short sentences. Begin limited communications using very short phrases and sentences.	Be more confident when beginning the lesson saying hello and good-bye and saying how you are and asking others how they are Work with a partner to say the months in the correct order	with support, ask and answer a simple familiar question on a limited range of topics which they have practised regularly.
Reading Recognise and understand some familiar written words and phrases. Show awareness of sound-spelling links.	Pick out and read their birthday month from a list Read a simple sentence from the ‘Trapdoor’ activity to say their birthday	work with a partner to match several familiar words and short French and English words and phrases which may include greetings, numbers, months, family members, pets, zoo animals and very basic opinions.
Writing Write some familiar simple words using a model and some from memory.	Select an appropriate word from a list to complete a short familiar phrase or sentence Begin to write a few words from memory e.g. a pet, a family member Complete a simple gap exercise	write an appropriate sentence or sentences from memory. write one or two simple sentences, using a model sentence builder e.g. name and age to introduce oneself. be more accepting that mistakes will be made when attempting to write a few familiar words from memory.
Grammar Become confident in using the ‘je’ form of the verbs ‘avoir’ ‘être’ and ‘parler’ from memory recognising other forms of the verbs ‘avoir’ and ‘être’ (if appropriate) recognising ‘je m’appelle’ recognising that the possessive pronoun ‘my’ needs to change to say when a member of the family has a birthday e.g. ‘the birthday of my dad/my sister is…’ Be able to recognise the gender of some familiar nouns. Be introduced to: ‘j’aime’, ‘je n’aime pas’, ‘j’adore’, ‘je déteste’ definite articles “le” + number + month for birthdays the negative ‘ne…pas’ in ‘Je n’aime pas’	Organise a list of family members, pets and zoo animals (with support if required) according to ‘le’, ‘la’, ‘les’, ‘un’, ’une’ (‘des’) and ‘mon’, ‘ma’, ‘mes’ With support say the name of a family member and give their birthday	recall that words have a gender and maybe say a couple of these words from memory (a/the/my). say ‘j’ai’ from memory. recognise that there are different forms of the verb.
Phonics Explore the patterns and sounds of language to help develop accurate pronunciation and intonation.	Explore the phonics pairs ‘AN & IN’	pick out some familiar words that contain the phonics pairs UN/ON. EU/AU, É/È, OU/U and AN/IN recall some of the mouth movements needed to make the sounds for the phonics pairs from this year
Culture To be able to understand that there are people and places in the world that are different to where one lives.	Become more understanding of the fact that there are people and places in the world that are different to where they live Understand that some people speak a different language	recall limited information about how Christmas is celebrated in France and/or about the tradition of April Fool’s day.

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Last updated on October 17, 2025